Understand
Wealthy Suffolk widow featured in new witchcraft exhibition at The Hold
Overview
A new witchcraft exhibition at The Hold in Ipswich highlights the story of Margery Chimney Wyeth, a relatively wealthy and independent widow accused of witchcraft during England's biggest witch trial in Suffolk in 1645. Led by self-appointed Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins, the Bury St Edmunds Assizes saw numerous people accused, though Wyeth defended herself and is believed to have escaped execution, unlike many others who faced death sentences.
Key points
- Margery Chimney Wyeth was a relatively wealthy widow accused of witchcraft in Suffolk in 1645 by Witchfinder General Matthew Hopkins.
- The Bury St Edmunds Assizes was the largest witch trial in English history, involving about 150 accused people from across Suffolk.
- Wyeth defended herself by stating she refused the Devil's temptations, and experts believe she was not executed.
- Another accused woman, Ellen Driver, confessed to witchcraft under torture after her husband died.
- The exhibition, titled 'Witches: Suffolk's Dark Legacy', runs at The Hold in Ipswich from 16 October to 21 February.